Jade Centennial, Mexico, Finca San Carlos, Alfred Klein

$19.17

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Producer Alfred Klein continues to find ways to innovate on quality, sustainability, and even speed of shipping. Sr. Klein's coffee was our company's first official production roast in 2017. A year later, we purchased the first iteration of this tiny lot of coffee to support Klein's efforts in improving quality which we purchased again for the 2019 offering. He managed to get this coffee to hitch a ride on a refrigerated banana container to the U.S., so what we have here is one of the freshest and most delicious Mexican coffees we've experienced.

Jade Centennial refers to the deeper than usual hue of the coffee and the hundred-year history of the farm. A parcel of the farm called Centenario is home to many of the trees, and on the parcel a hand-carved Mayan jade figurine was unearthed. The trees were planted on the farm by a Guatemalan worker who claimed to have brought the seedlings from Quetzaltenango

The Finca San Carlos Story:

Alfred Klein’s profound love for “a little patch of earth” and years of hard work restoring his coffee farm made this incredibly delicious coffee possible. Finca San Carlos is located in Unión Juárez, a city on the western slope of Volcán Tacaná. The volcano is mostly located in Guatemala, and the city of Unión Juárez could hardly be closer to the Guatemalan border if it tried. The farm belongs to Alfred Klein, who purchased it from the Hotzen family, the original owners who have owned the land since 1896. Royal Coffee importers partnered with Klein and provided financing for the transaction.

Early results from the certified organic trees were exceptional, but the timing of the purchase proved to be ill-fated. The second season of the farm’s harvest while in Klein’s possession was almost entirely obliterated by the rust fungus epidemic that continues to devastate Central American coffee farms. Yields were down 85% for Finca San Carlos, but Alfred Klein’s determination was unabated. Royal doubled down, further financing nurseries and facility improvements and the results have certainly paid off in the quality of the coffee. Klein has planted resistant varieties to improve biodiversity of the crop and has installed an incredible water purification system, including pulp and biowaste treatment.

Spring water on the farm runs year round, and enables Klein to “double wash” his coffee, soaking the coffee for 48 hours after its initial 48 hour wet fermentation. The farm is in pursuit of Rainforest Alliance certification, and has made a commitment to the wellbeing of its migrant worker population (mostly Guatemalan) to whom services are provided including on-site housing, meals, health care, and education.

Grower: Finca San Carlos, Alfred Klein

Region:Unión Juárez, Chiapas, Mexico

Cultivar:Unknown jade colored variety

Altitude:1100 - 1350 masl

Process: 1100 - 1350 masl

Fully washed after pulping, fermented underwater for 48 hours, then soaked for 48 hours in clean spring water, and finally dried in the sun on patios and raised beds.